Tetsuro Ryuzaki
Notice: I'm redoing this character under a new article name, but I'm keeping this one here for future reference. Tetsuro Ryuzaki (流座気哲郎 lit. Method of Feeling, Iron Law), known prominently by his moniker Maebure (前触れlit. Harbinger), is a mysterious entity that wanders the spiritual and physical plains. He has never stated who exactly his parents are, and he prefers to remain an enigma to the public. Many note that he prefers to allow others to do the fighting unless he feels he needs to step in, but that he is also a powerful combatant who is only moreso because of his willingness to fight pragmatically at the cost of what some call honor. He has admitted that his alignment is completely neutral, which has kept him away from such places as Soul Society where there are ruling parties that he himself does not personally respect. Still, he can be counted on when truly needed, something his friends will typically vouch for when called to question. Appearance Tetsuro has been shown to possess light brown skin, dark brown hair, and equally dark eyes to match. He tends to prefer darker toned colors; typically wearing black in some form in nearly his entire wardrobe. His attire is typically somewhat baggy; shown by his choice of a loose black T-shirt and khaki cargo pants. Over this is mainly a dark, hooded longcoat which conceals the weapons he carries on his person and hides his spiritual pressure if he wishes. His expression is typically calm, his eyes are usually set either in a state of analysis or thoughtfulness, and in full his expression can either seem kind or cold. Personality and Traits :"So I'm surrounded and everything, looks like I'm a goner, but you overlooked one possibility." :"What would that be?" :"The possibility that I would cheat." :—Tetsuro and an Unnamed Shinigami Tetsuro is a highly intelligent, if complex, person who possesses two disparate natures; coming off as either warm and friendly or cold and apathetic. These two natures require balance, and depending on his surroundings decide how he acts. He possesses charisma, and can draw people to him. Shrewd and curious, as well as being liberal and independent-minded, his talent in perceiving the motives of others is extraordinary, and he is highly free-thinking and unconventional. Forthright in explanation, he tends to get right to the point. Analytical, iconoclastic, and at times rebellious, he is rather unpredictable in thought and action. He doesn't give his trust to everyone, and those who don't qualify may find themselves ignored or sharply criticized at some point. Frustrated when hampered, Tetsuro is not satisfied unless free to do as he pleases. Typically confident, he is a good leader that is hardworking and sociable. Tetsuro can surprisingly manage to be both magnanimous and vindictive; while he is tolerant of many petty wrongs, when roused or in a bad mood, he can be completely intolerant of things and become highly vindictive. In the long run though his tolerance shows; rarely holding grudges. Tetsuro still has other quirks however; not being above manipulation and deceit. He ends up at times being self-destructive, obstinate, critical, over-ambitious, ruthless, intolerant, and scheming. Tetsuro also has a small habit of answering questions he doesn't want to answer with a 'mathematician's answer' — an answer that is completely accurate that is of no use in the question's context — typically at the expense of the person he answers. He enjoys using sarcasm, especially when being critical (which depending on the person can be often or not), as well as being lazy when the objective isn't exactly important to him. His colder and more analytical side can be rather deadpan about things, but both natures can deal with anger; albeit in different ways. His anatyical side is more likely to sharply criticize in a level tone, while his warmer self is likely to flare up and yell. Typically Tetsuro prefers the former option when dealing with people though. Tetsuro will habitually slouch when sitting, and when thinking, will often pace around the room while standing. In hobbies Tetsuro enjoys reading and origami; if he is not napping he is likely to be found doing one of the two. History Under Construction Powers and Abilities Interminable Spiritual Power: Tetsuro possesses no trace of spiritual pressure; a fact that has been noted by several noteworthy beings. However, he has displayed an ability that allows him to mimic the spiritual frequency of other beings whom have entered his presence, which he has used to deadly effect in the past. Mitohshi (見通し lit. Unobstructed View): An odd ability that Tetsuro was apparently born with. According to him it allows him to see 'that which is hidden'. To this end he can see literally see things hidden from plain view, and can 'read' a person's emotions. He can also view how things are connected and related to him. It is later revealed that he does not actually use his eyes when using this ability, something that has caught his foes off guard in combat. Mastery of Combat: Tetsuro has shown been shown to be quite ruthless when he needs to be, but he can also be self-defensive and his style of combat reflects this. Augmenting his hand-to-hand combat skills with forms of Drunken Kung Fu, as well as many throws, grabs, and punches allows him a style that allows for both offensive and defensive moves with equal ease. With a sword he is also highly capable; even combining his hand-to-hand with it to allow for more options. Tetsuro also possesses a large knowledge involving the human body and its pressure points; allowing him to defeat most with surgical precision. Tetsuro can be described as a tactical fighter; he will exploit any opening he can find and is quick to formulate strategies in the middle of battle. A weakness could perhaps be noted as the fact that he is not able to maintain a consistent amount of strength when forced to do so, but his flexibility and speed easily make up for this fact; being perfectly capable of performing stunts most would not even try. His reflexes are another noticeable part of his skills; he is easily able to quickly avoid a large number of attacks that most would not be able to even notice coming. His skill is great enough that he rarely uses his shikai unless it would be pointless not to do so. Tetsuro has also shown a skill at throwing knives; his aim allowing him to easily hit a small target such as the face. :Majinau (呪う lit. to pray for the death or misfortune of another): A sword form developed by Tetsuro; it is a form of both ferocity and patience. This form is one of the most taxing of sword forms; both physically, mentally, and spiritually, so few would be able to achieve a skill with it. Majinau requires a focus of emotions; not shoving them down but allowing them to empower oneself. On the outside Tetsuro will likely show inner calm, but in reality he has brought his two disparate emotional natures together for explosive results. The form to the untrained eye will show unconnected attacks lacking polish. In reality the other strikes that connect them moved to fast for the eyes to see. This technique involves a constant and sizable stream of reiatsu use; barely containing an explosion of it. This technique, similar to the Shunko technique, boosts the speed of a combatant as well as their power to incredible levels. To even the trained eye it will appear that Tetsuro is wielding many blades at once; attacks in reality flow into each other with liquid precision, and such ferocity behind the attacks bring forth a style of incredible strength and agility, but also unpredictability. Spiritual Sensory: Tetsuro's perception is typically highly honed, but he also has demonstrated an interesting ability; the ability to clearly define and make out spiritual bodies; allowing him to tell where beings are even when they are not visible to his other senses. He has used this ability to surprise those who woudl try to sneak up on him, as he is highly proficient at defining the origin of even the largest of spiritual pressures. Hohō Master (歩法 lit. step method): Tetsuro's combat skills are based on quick movements and flexibilty, so it is not surprising for most when they discover his mastery of the Shinigami method of fast movement. Tetsuro possesses a natural talent that allowed him to use it in theory before he hadeven obtained his full Shinigami powers. Tetsuro's skill is great enough that not only is he an incredibly fast opponent, but also enough that he does not make a sound when doing so; allowing him to catch people off guard as they can not normally use their hearing to locate where he will strike. This coupled with his coat that hides his entire spiritual pressure, and his own skill at supressing it, gives him a clear advantage in the field of surprise. Shunpo (瞬歩 lit. Flash steps): A movement technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow. The most common Hohō technique, Tetsuro uses his skill with it to easily bridge distances and surprise his foes. His skill is great enough that he will at times instinctively dodge using this; even when the attack is fast enough that it is under his normal reflex time. Senka (閃花 lit. Flash Blossom): A special Shunpo technique where one moves to their opponents back. Directly attacking and sealing one's "Saketsu (鎖結 lit. Chain Binding)" and "Hakusui (鎖結 lit. Soul Sleep)" in one strike. Tetsuro typically loathes using this technique unless he is significantly angered by a foe, or feels that it is necassary to strip the foe of their powers. Utsusemi (空蝉 lit. Cicada, referencing their molting): Allows for a movement at great speed; leaving an afterimage behind. The afterimage may even appear to have taken damage. Tetsuro is known to use this technique to infuriate and unbalance his enemies; giving him an advantage in clarity of mind. Any rage that comes from this will also help a certain ability of his take effect. Kidō Master: At first unable to obtain his Zanpakutō, Tetsuro honed his skill in Kidō to compensate, which with help from his near photographic memory allowed him to easily recall most incantations, and then achieve a skill most shinigami do not obtain. His dedication and focus to the talent allowed him to eventually use nearly all Kidō without an incantation, And at this point his proficiency allows his Kidō to still be a viable combat option where others would switch to their Shikai and Bankai. His logic and calculating nature also allows him to formulate a few Kidō of his own, though the exact number is unknown. :Kyuuseki (九関 lit. Nine Gates): A special Kidō designed by Tetsuro for travel purposes. The Kidō has the ability to be used to pass into any world, and with the right set up can be used to pass through realities. Tetsuro states that is allows passage into other worlds even if guarded by reason because a gate defines the inside and outside of a place; by using a gate chaos is not introduced into the system and is thus allowed through reason. This ability can create either a relatively permanent gate or a temporary one; to pass through realities one must create 8 such gates; each strategically placed in seperate worlds within the reality, with a ninth placed within the other reality as a means of entrance and exit. Tetsuro has calculated that a gate would be needed in the World of the Living, Soul Society, Hell, the Dangai, Nakayo, Hueco Mundo, the Menos Forest, and Reiji Maigo for the crossing to work. Tetsuro is the only person currently capable of using this ability because he is the only one with knowledge of it. Master of Assassination and Deception: Perhaps due to his ruthlessness, Tetsuro is an accomplished assassin; using the arts of stealth, deception, and speed to his full advantage. His intellect and tactical skill allows him to take out foes in many imaginative and effective ways that leave no proof that he was responsible. His stealth with even regular movements is also a factor that allow him to slip in and out unseen; few whom he has targetted have lived to tell about. His natural affinity for deception is also an edge; at times fooling people into a false sense of security. It is clear that out of the five primary forms of deception, he prefers concealment, exageration, and understatement. Zanpakutō Sakayume (逆夢 lit. a dream which is contradicted by reality) is the Zanpakutō of Tetsuro. Aginst the norms of most Zanpakutō, it takes the form of a ballistic knife when sealed. This weapon, born from the designs of the World of the Living, is capable of firing its blade at foes when getting in close is not an option. It is shown Tetsuro is capable of reloading the blade, and does not need the one first fired to do so. How Tetsuro has carried it has varied over time: at some points he is shown storing it within a hollowed out cane that spilt open to reveal it when needed, and at other times he simply keeps it in a regular knife sheathe. Sakayume's spirit is shown to be female and a stoic yet kind individual who shares a friendly brother/sister relationship with her wielder, who has nicknamed her Ui (憂い/有為 lit. gloomy/''perpetual change caused by karma; vicissitudes of life''). Sakayume is most often seen in Tetsuro's inner world, which takes the form of empty space where only an individual who knows what they are doing can find their footing. *'Shikai': Sakayume is released by the command, "Bleed," (出血, Shukketsu); when released, scars along Tetsuro's right arm open that he has possessed since first achieving Shikai. As this occurs his blood will slowly pool down his arm, though Tetsuro controls the flow at all times; even from other battle wounds he recently sustains as a useful secondary ability. The blood will concentrate along Sakayume's ballistic knife form fairly quickly; reshaping it into a katana. His blood is then used in numerous techniques that involve its use by Sakayume's power. Though not as effective at a sizeable flow, Tetsuro can also let out blood from his fingertips in an emergency. Tetsuro has noted that he still only possesses the average amount of blood in a body (about 10-12 pints). However his body does produce blood cells more quickly to compensate, though it is still not all that quick so he tends to be careful with how much blood he uses. It is later revealed Tetsuro's body replenishes approximately 2.4 pints of blood per day, which means it takes him 2 days to recover fully if he must fight to his limit, though considering at the point he will likely be entering shock after the immediate threat, he is not likely to ever normally risk it. :Shikai Special Ability: Sakayume's abilities revolve around coming into contact with Tetsuro's blood and delivering devastating effects upon them based on Tetsuro's will. A passive ability allows Tetsuro to 'see' everything that is in contact with his blood. The effects are typically activated by a command, though it is only optional and simply increases the overall power of the effect. They are generally quite devastating, and their main weakness is the fact that contact is typically required and the fact that it is extremely dangerous to use a large amount of blood (using more than 40% of his overall capacity will likely be fatal if not quickly treated, and even then Tetsuro will not be in any condition to continue). It is concluded that these weaknesses are possibly what helped mold Tetsuro into a tactical fighter, and an extremely deadly one at that. :*'Moyasu' (燃やす lit. Burn): The first command of Sakayume is an extremely deadly one; Tetsuro's blood takes on highly acidic properties that can corrode most substances in moments. Tetsuro has shown many disturbingly effective uses of this technique by melting the faces of his foes or even completely corroding their body after having stepped into a pool of his blood after an intense skirmish and after having burned away their feet, they fell and were destroyed utterly over the course of 10 seconds. :*'Azamuku' (欺く lit. Decieve): Sakayume's second command turns Tetsuro's blood into a hallucinogen that's effectiveness is dependent on the amount of blood present, though it is automatically at its most powerful if a moderate amount is found on a foe's head. Tetsuro notes that the difference between these hallucinations and the illusions of illusionary abilities is that no outside stimilus is needed for them to take effect. The exact hallicination is typically dependent on Tetsuro's imagination, but he is known for making use of his foe's worst fears. :*'Kare' (刈れ lit. Reap): The third command is more of a supplementary technique. It involves coating a weapon in Tetsuro's blood that, when used on Sakayume or an allies weapon, increases the cutting power and durability of the weapon to much higher levels than normally seen. On the other hand, when used on a foe's Zanpakutō, Tetsuro's blood effectively negates all communication between the Zanpakutō's spirit and wielder, preventing any techniques from being used and lowering overall combat effectiveness if the two fight as one. Tetsuro has in the past allowed a foe to stab him in order to easily coat his blood on their blades for this purpose. :*'Ataeru' (与える lit. Give): This fourth command is a somewhat odd technique. It allows things that are injured to be healed when in contact with Tetsuro's blood. The oddness comes from the fact that this does not work on Tetsuro himself, so while allies may take damage and be healed, Tetsuro cannot do the same and so it is more risky for him. :*'Doku' (毒 lit. Poison): Sakayume turns Tetsuro's blood into a potent poison with the fifth command. The poison can be injested directly, or it can enter the body when the foe is cut and Tetsuro has his blood on his blade. The poison itself has a variety of effects that take effect in a varying amount of time. The simplest form is a poison that will kill them after it has been ingested only. In combat he prefers to use poisons that upset a foe's reflexes or slowly knocks them unconscious, etc. :*'Idō' (移動 lit. Move): The sixth command of Sakayume is a movement technique that allows Tetsuro to teleport anywhere that his blood is present. He has used this often to allow him to take on multiple foes at once as well as avoid severe injury that could put his health in jeopardy when it is already fairly fragile with blood loss. The technique can only be used every 3 seconds. *'Bankai': Not Yet Revealed Quote *"So you're saying you're good and they're evil? I don't buy it, your beliefs are just different." *"''Let me quote an old book I've read, 'Nothing is true, everything is permitted.' Continue on this path with those words in mind. Nothing anyone says about how we should or should not act is true, and everything we could ever think of doing within actual possibility is permitted to happen, and so it will." Trivia *Tetsuro's theme is The Catalyst by Linkin Park. *Tetsuro's hobbies are origami, piano, and reading. *Tetsuro favorite food is guotie (potstickers), and his favorite drinks are cream soda and hot cocoa; with his least favorite food being seafood.